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Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

Originally Posted by jim lyon

Another note: Just for clarification there is a member that apparently goes by his real name of Rob Hughes, as near as I can tell he shares no connection whatsoever with any of these folks or this situation. The alias' that RR were posting under were beehugheshoney and TwinkieBee

another quote, supposedly from Robert Russell

I want to apologize to you for hiding my identity as Rob Hughes when meeting with you and your father

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

Originally Posted by jim lyon

Another note: Just for clarification there is a member that apparently goes by his real name of Rob Hughes, as near as I can tell he shares no connection whatsoever with any of these folks or this situation.

Thanks for pointing this out, Jim. All indications concur that there is no connection.

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

As far as queen strains go, i do believe that we are offering genuinely good queens, we sub producers i mean. I didnt offer to raise and sell some of Russell's more exotic strains, but stuck to the Sunkist Italian, and buckfast. It is not hard to think that these queen types would have the claimed genes that were said that were in them, as there are multiple queen breeders that offer buckfast, such as miksa and ferguson, and there have been multiple advertisments by multiple people, offering the sunkist line, that is really a product of JN Russell. If robert got JN's hives, then he must have gotten JN's genetic lines also. This is speculation on my part, as i have never seen their operation.
This is why i have offered a refund to anyone that purchased queens from me, as Russell Apiaries NY,for this coming spring, as i do want to raise queens and offer them for sale, and i dont want to add bad blood from such a terrible issue as this.
specialkayme, i applaude you, it takes a lot for anyone to say that they were wrong, but you also went above and beyond to find out about RA, thank you

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

NY Blues - Kudo's for you for stepping up to the plate and taking responsiblity - it says alot about the kind of person/business person you are as opposed to remaining silent

Sippy - Taking everyting into account - including your friendship with Ricky - your're golden with me! Perhaps much of your issue was the passion attached to your posts which I now look at as trying prevent further damage. Clearly running 11 hives there is no commercial gain here for you in the near future.

Mtinaz - What you have told us about the investigation sound like good follow through and I think one way or another RR may end up in hot water up to his neck and those around him who have knowledge will be singing like birds to avoid possible prosecution. In any crime where there is more than one person with knowledge, as obviously stealing your hives was, there will be a weak link in the chain and I suspect The Sheriffs Dept. will find and exploit that link. keep us posted.

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

All I can say is that I'm so glad that I dodged this bullet. I was one of the first to start talking with RR about becoming a "sub-producer". We carried out these discussions long before the term "sub-producer" was even considered. We had lengthy PM's about the intricate measures that he required to become part of the family. It all seemed very convoluted and I even bounced it off our state apiarist, who issued a "proceed with caution" note to me. One of the last communications (came through as Robert Hughes) was an invitation to become a sub-producer and the requirement of over $3000 to join the "club". With all the complaints coupled with "cloak and mirror" nonsense discussed in our PM's I decided that there were other avenues to queen rearing.

He sure seemed real.... I guess this is why so many gotten taken. A colleague from one of our local clubs got taken based upon my recommendation. I plan to make it right with that man this season by providing replacement queens free of charge.

Mtinaz - What you have told us about the investigation sound like good follow through and I think one way or another RR may end up in hot water up to his neck and those around him who have knowledge will be singing like birds to avoid possible prosecution. -snip-

Good summary Joel, to which I would add a suggestion that Barry add a new forum listing bad actors in the bee business, actors to avoid if you want to deal with reputable vendors. Also for Barry, consider going to and change Rob Hughes's name to something like: The good Rob Hughes.

ADDED: A feedback forum like this might help the board in the future. I'm a moderator on the board at that link. The feedback forum is a lion on a leash, but can work for the good of the membership.

Last edited by Lburou; 02-20-2013 at 10:42 AM.
Reason: removed the word admonition

LeeB
I try to learn from my mistakes, and from yours when you give me a heads up :)

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

I'm still finding it hard to reconcile why my order was received and so many others were taken. RR's 'method' in this fiasco seems to have little rhyme or reason and I feel so sorry for those who were taken for much larger amounts of money than I had personally risked.

I can't seem to find my last post on this in the Russell thread, but to reiterate my experience I ordered a single queen last spring to replace a bad queen in a package I had received. Queen was delayed in the MS post office for 3 days in the heat and did not lay for 3 weeks. After an email to 'victoria' RR sent another queen at no charge overnight USPS. I started the first queen on a nuc who started laying shortly thereafter (banked queen or just the heat?) and both hives did fairly well over the summer seem to be still alive (although it is still too cold here to do a full inspection). Had I thought my money was at risk or any shady business was occurring I would have ordered elsewhere. I can't figure out why he would fulfill mine and send a replacement at his cost yet take so many other's money without so much as a response. It's sad and infuriating.

I just looked through some of my correspondence with 'Victoria' last spring and saw a message that might help some of you out. I had told her I appreciated them sending a replacement queen so quickly, and asked where I could send a thank you card.

I will pass that msg along. If you'd like you can send a card to 212 Fannin Landing Cir. Brandon MS 39047. I basically eat, sleep, and live work lately. Lol. Thank you for the kind words and I hope you enjoy your queens.
Victoria Ball
Russell Apiarieswww.russellapiaries.com

In any case, I'm not sure if that address had been posted earlier but if not maybe it might help someone out. Good luck to you all who have lost their hard earned dollars. You have my sympathies and you've been nicer about it than I would have been.

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

Originally Posted by kincade

212 Fannin Landing Cir. Brandon MS 39047. I basically eat, sleep, and live work lately. Lol. Thank you for the kind words and I hope you enjoy your queens.
Victoria Ball

You'll notice on Google that there is no Victoria Ball in Brandon. There are 3 Victoria Ball's in MS and the closest one to this address is over 100 miles away in Louisville! That would be one daily commute, wouldn't it!

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

Dare I even ask if anyone ever corroborated the story about the tragic vehicle death of two employees that supposedly set production back considerably? Maybe I dont want to know that answer to that one.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney

Re: Robert Russell is a fraud

This from the Russell website today:

"Holdover/Transfer orders and Cancellations

Due to the many struggles that we have faced during the 2012 season with the storm damages, the traggic loss of vital members of our crews, a large turn over of office staff, and the discovery of major health issues of our administration, there were significant breaks in our abilities to communicate with our customers. As a result, a small amount orders were not shipped. While the majority of the customers that were effected by this have rescheduled their deliveries to spring of 2013, you are welcome to request that we cancel your order instead if you would prefer. To have your 2012 order shipped in 2013 by the main company, shipped by your Local Russell Apiaries location, or request a cancellation, please send an email to russelltransfers@yahoo.com "

perhaps it is old news?

I also noticed that they are WAY down in the number of breeds they profess to produce. Only 7 - a couple variations on Sunkist, Carniolan, Italian/Carniolan, and "Tiger" and "Pollinator"